About Anne and Outcome Thinking® Training

"If you have a job without aggravation, you don't have a job." Malcolm Forbes I love that quote. It speaks to the fact that life and our jobs are not meant to be easy. They are meant to challenge us to bring all we have to the table. I think we often forget to stop and be grateful for what we do have and how the challenges we face end up shaping who we are and what we do. Those are things to be grateful for. I reflect back now on some of the toughest times in my life and I realize how much what I did and how I thought through those times now shapes the persistence, endurance and tenacity I have today. I wouldn't trade those times for anything. Of course, I wouldn't want to live through them again but honestly wouldn't erase them if I could. As leaders and sales professionals you often want the smooth path- where no one bothers you with their problems- but the reality is that is exactly why you are there. Customers want sales people to solve their problems. Employees want leaders to make their life easier. As Collin Powel said, "If people aren't bringing you their problems, you are no longer leading." So don't wish for the problems to disappear but instead look for how you can improve how you deal with them. I have found that the longer we "dwell" on something the more we give weight to opinions, assumptions and the farther we move away from the facts. So do this with your next problem in order to bring more clarity: Write down the facts as you know them- no opinions or assumptions. It is tougher than you think. Matter-of-fact, when we do this with leaders they find that 70% of the information they are acting on is really opinion or assumption, not fact! Look at the facts and think about what the best outcome would be. If you need to, at this point you can look at some assumptions ONLY IF they are positive. Why? Because it will keep your brain on a proactive role versus a defensive mode. Now quickly write out a course of action and then set it aside. Let it just sit in your brain. Review it later on (even the next day if it is a bigger or more delicate problem) and see if it still feels right. If it doesn't the best answer usually pops in to your head overnight. This quick little four step process will help you keep problems from dwelling and growing roots in your brain and instead, will give greater clarity and insight. -Anne Outcome Thinking® training works to shift the brain from the defense to the offense allowing more focused, creative and effective long term solutions and outcomes. It will allow you to stay positively focused and in alignment with other's needs and perspective instead of lapsing into negative assumptions, and reacting from a limited and more narrow point of view. As a leader, you want to access your full brain power to creatively handle and address challenges and needs that arise and spark innovation. Contact us at 888-imp-9421, visit www.impressionmanagement.com, or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Anne's Outcome Thinking® Insights

"How to Make a Big Impact at a Sales Meeting"

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Quotable Quotes

“It is not “What is the answer?” but how to live without it." ”

- Pam Schmidt

Outcome Thinking^® Solution

When are the best days and times for closing sales?

Situation:

I'm new to the sales profession and I've heard that there are days and times that are better for closing deals. Would you please elaborate?

OUTCOME DESIRED:

You want to do what's best for your potential customers and for your company. You want to build a long standing relationship with your customers.

OTHER PERSON'S PERSPECTIVE:

Your potential customer wants you to understand them – their concerns, challenges and frustrations. They want you to make it easy to buy. They want quality customer service and follow through.

HOW TO HANDLE:

Many sales people get caught up in the paradigm of "This is who we are, this is what we do, and this is how we can help you" even before they understand their prospect and his needs. I've worked with a sales person who was not having great success. In fact, he was very discouraged. I asked him to try something new.

As well as, the time of day, try approaching your meeting from the client's point of view. What day and time works best for them. What are their needs and concerns. Listen carefully, and you will be able to gather the information you'll need for your scheduled "closing" meeting.

Yes, morning seems to be the very best time, and Friday is the best day. Your prospect is ready to take action and produce results. Therefore, they will be more likely to want to take action and sign the deal. On Fridays people want to get things off their plate, so they are more likely to make a decision and not ponder over the weekend. So, make sure you have laid all of the ground work before your "closing" meeting.

However, before you get caught up in the "right" time and day, stop and ask yourself, "What questions do I need to ask of Mr. /Ms. Prospect first?" "What research should I do before I set the meeting time and day?"

Once you get comfortable with being the person who asks lots of probing questions, you can focus on your closing strategies.

When closing a deal, do not use the standard watered‐down phrases of "So what do you think?" or "So how do you feel about that?"

Instead, make sure you have set up in advance what the goal of your time together is. That way you can refer to the agreed upon goal in your closing. For example, John, if we are able to help you develop stronger leaders, would you be able to sign on that today; or who else would we need to have involved? If you do not have all the dealmakers at the table, it is best to suspend the conversation until you do.

Deal of the Month!

How To Open Doors And Close More Sales This question and answer style book includes valuable How To's for the sales professional How do you develop a follow-up plan that confirms that a session accomplished what it was supposed to? In a meeting with a sales prospect, you want to close by recapping what was agreed on, what the next steps are, and how you will follow up. Most sales people miss the opportunity to find out from the client how they want you to follow up with them. Some prefer phone calls and some prefer e-mails. If you find out in the meeting exactly how to follow up with them, and agree on when, then you are not pestering the client. Make sure you have included all the decision makers if you set another meeting! Notice how we went from a mild follow up of, "Sure, I'll send you information," to a closing situation where you get in front of the decision-makers. The worst thing you can ever do is to merely send a proposal and hope and pray that they buy from you. Buy Now

Outcome Thinking^® Guest Column
Lighting your way with new perspectives!

Hey, I have a sales tip for you.
by Jeffrey Gitomer

You rarely use the sales tips you're given, even though they're obvious and may be better than the way you're selling. REASON? You're comfortable with moderate success, and don't want to chance losing what you have.

The classic example is my tip: Cold calling is a waste of time. You're calling on people you don't know, interrupting their day, manipulating your way in, and IF you get through to an actual decision maker, odds are you'll say the wrong thing anyway. "If I could just have a few minutes of your time, I can save you some money." Pathetic.

First of all, real leaders don't want to save money, they want to make a profit. Second of all, rejection 98 out of 100 times is depressing, demoralizing, degrading, and not to mention giving you a bad rap as a rep.

REMEDY: Earn and generate referrals. It's a much higher percentage sale, much more respected in its approach, and more likely to breed a relationship – and another referral.

NOTE WELL: Cold calls do work, just not that well. Two or three out of a hundred. Referrals work 50 out of a 100. Hello!

Seems obvious to me, yet cold calls persist.

So let me give you a few more pieces of sales gold. See which ones you can cash in on...

SALES TIP: Never call on purchasing or procurement. Only talk to people who tell purchasing what to do. Thousands of salespeople start with someone in purchasing because it's the easiest point of entry. All purchasing people want to do is cut costs and reduce vendor profits in the process. HINT: CEOs tell purchasing agents what to do. Convince the big boss of your value, and the little boss in purchasing will follow his orders like a puppy.

SALES TIP: Always leave a message. When salespeople ask me, "Should I leave a message?" the answer is always the same. "Yes!" The main reason salespeople do not leave a message is fear that they will not get the call returned and/or that they have nothing of value to say. The reason they have nothing of value to say is that they are completely unprepared to engage the customer with anything of value. The reason that they're unprepared is that they are unwilling to invest the time it takes to get ready.

SALES TIP: Ask for the sale every time. Salespeople go all through their presentation and the customer says, "Sounds great. Can you send me a proposal?" Salesperson says, "Yes" and leaves without asking for the sale. Happens every time. Salespeople should walk in with a proposal. Salespeople should ask, "If the proposal is exactly what we discussed today, will you accept it?" And finally, if you, the salesperson, do leave saying okay to the proposal, never leave without a firm appointment for presenting the proposal in person and finalizing the deal.

SALES TIP: Start your presentation with engaging, emotional questions, not a bunch of self-serving crap about you and your product. It's likely your customer already has a pretty decent working knowledge about your product and your company. Your goal is not to educate. Your goal is to engage. And this is most easily done by asking emotional-based questions. One that I always ask is, "Where did you grow up?" This is a very emotional question. It immediately brings back thoughts of early childhood, siblings, parents, and hometowns. Oftentimes it's different than the town you're making a presentation in. Oftentimes it will reveal commonalities and similar interests. That one simple question will guide you to a beginning point of a relationship, and can easily be segued into brief customer history. (How did you get from there to here?) Add questions like "What made you choose this career?" or "Why did you choose to get involved in this business?" If you feel comfortable enough to ask deeper questions like "What are you most proud of?" or "How did that event impact your success?" you can develop solid rapport. Taking an interest in the other person is key to them taking an interest in you.

SALES TIP: Friendly beats professional every time. It's always interesting to me to see the word professional when referring to salespeople or sales training. Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather deal with a friendly person than a professional person, because I can get along with a friendly person, I can't always get along with a professional person. And I want to like the people that I do business with. There's a subtlety. You can act professionally, but when you speak, it should always be in a friendly manner. Be conversational rather than contrived – to me friendly is conversational. Professional is contrived.

There's a few tips you can use. Will you use them? You decide.

Jeffrey Gitomer, is the author of The New York Times best sellers The Sales Bible, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Black Book of Connections, and The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude. All of his books have been number one best sellers on Amazon.com, including Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Patterson Principles of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, and The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching! Jeffrey's books have sold millions of copies worldwide.